Hello,I will be selling my MBP mid 2015(Ati R9 M370X 2Gb) because the performance is really poor. I do stuff in PS where this top class laptop struggles So I decided I come back to Win10 and make a new pc build. Please, any ideas if I am choosing right? I need to be at 1600USD max(= 35.000CZK). I chose some components and if there is someone who would question my pick, please do that. I would like to be sure I do the right thing in choosing new components.I will mainly use it for photo editing. LR and PS. I do a lot of brenizer shootings. Recently, I started doing small videos in PP and AE - I mean I learn those modern transitions, tracking, masking etc. The fact I ll have a new nice pc, some gaming as well. This build should serve for business purposes(photography, graphics).

LCD:Dell UltraSharp U2518Dhttps://www.amazon.com …ds=Dell+UltraSh​arp+U2518D$287.95I like it is 1440p and 25". Pretty much close to the Retina. Are there better for the same price? I can stand fHD only at 15". And for sure I do not want 4k screens. It eats a lot of performance.

This is aprox. 1425 USD total. In Czechia it is a bit more expensive: 1600USD = 35.000CZK and that is my budget. If I should invest more, I really need an argument What I do not need so far is a hard-drive. I have some 250Gb EVO 840 SSD which is really nice. I use it as a system drive and some 4TB beast I buy later. So my question is, what is your opinion on components? I like the case but I do not know if it is a good one or if I chose right the lcd monitor. Thank you for your thoughts.

My recent build looked pretty close to that, I put 2x16 RAM in my tower and am loving it. Honestly I will be putting another 32 to make a total of 64 by the end of summer. Coming from a laptop with 16 it just was not enough in my opinion, others will say it is, so its just a matter of what you wanna spend money on. I wanted to build a machine that would work great for several years.

Also not sure why you will not run an internal hard drive. Seems strange a to me. Get a 250 GB SSD for your boot drive.

It is a matter of money, I will buy it later immediately. I have a startup drive - that Samsung SSD 250Gb and with that I can have a couple of projects in it. And of course, 16Gb ram is not enough even for Photoshop, LR and Chrome launched at the same time I will add it later as well. I need the core components asap.

MartinCapal wrote in post #18643836...This is 1340USD total. In Czechia it is a bit more expensive: 1600USD = 35.000CZK and that is my budget. If I should invest more, I really need an argument What I do not need so far is a hard-drive. I have an external one and I have some 250Gb EVO 840 SSD which is really nice. So my question is, what is your opinion on components? I like the case but I do not know if it is a good one or if I chose right the lcd monitor. Thank you for your thoughts.

Your list looks fine.....with one exception: NO MOTHERBOARD in your parts list here. You don't need to shoot for the moon on a MOBO, IMHO....but it will add at least $140+ to the cost of your build.

Fractals are excellent cases. Used one in a friend's rebuild about 5 years ago, and no issues at all.

I've had good success with Corsair PSU's, but haven't really heard anything bad about Seasonic. With that GPU, you might consider bumping up to a 650w. Reviews make it sound like it's one of the ones that has the 10-year warranty. I would double check on that. Haven't been following the prices on PSU's lately, but that's great news if you can get a 10-year PSU at that price. When I did a rebuild 15 months ago with a top of the line Corsair, I paid about $110 for a 550w with their max warranty.

Memory is just $$$$$ right now, and no signs of it coming down. Glad I bought 32GB of DDR4 stuff back in early 2017....same amount of money now only gets you about 16gb.

Gear ListBlessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt. – Herbert Hoover

MartinCapal wrote in post #18644059Oh, how could I forget. I added it into the list. ASrock B360 Pro4. Any better choice?

The B360 and H370 are the newest chipset releases (April of this year), although there is also the Z370 that came out last October. All should work fine for your i7 processor. I think most of these new ones have the ability to run dual M.2 hard drives on board. B360 is probably going to be the more 'budget' route, although it shouldn't cost you any performance wise. Just not all of the whistles and buzzers.

I'm more of an ASUS guy when it comes to mobos. Going back to the early 2000s, I have overall had the best success with them. If it were me, I would pay the extra $25 and get something like this ASUS instead: https://www.amazon.com …60-H-GAMING/dp/B07BPB158H

And that's one of the lower-end ROG boards from ASUS. Whether you need more of the whistles and buzzers on your MOBO is up to you. But as far as performance for things related to photography, it won't really make much difference (IMHO) whether you spend $107 or $180 for something nicer.

Gear ListBlessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt. – Herbert Hoover

MartinCapal wrote in post #18643908It is a matter of money, I will buy it later immediately. I have a startup drive - that Samsung SSD 250Gb and with that I can have a couple of projects in it. And of course, 16Gb ram is not enough even for Photoshop, LR and Chrome launched at the same time I will add it later as well. I need the core components asap.

I say save a little bit more and double the ram, a SSD and 32gb of ram will be stupid fast.

I used the Define R4 for my main home box in late-2016. Paid $80 via a Newegg deal. Probably the best case I've ever seen at that price point, and I've seen quite a few. Looked over a ton before I bought the R4, and it has been great. Awesome airflow with the low-rpm fans.

Not sure why these R5s and R6s are so much more expensive than the R4 I purchased. I would think something like the Corsair Obsidian 450D mid-tower ($110 via Amazon: https://www.amazon.com …-24&keywords=Corsair+ca​se) would work just as well, if you are looking to trim costs. I chose between my Fractal Design and a Corsair case, and ultimately went with the Fractal because it was on sale. But it's hard to find anyone that's not happy after purchasing a Corsair case.

Put two 140mm fans in front, one 140mm fan on the bottom, two 140 mm on the top, and one 140mm fan on the back....and you've got a great wind tunnel! for gaming Make sure you get a motherboard that can control fan speed (like a nice ASUS) or just makes sure the 140mm fans are silent. Otherwise it will be noisy. My Fractal case came with twin fans in the front with a speed controller, which works great. I always keep my fans running on 'low'...and I've never had a heat problem, even with my system minimally overclocked.

Gear ListBlessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt. – Herbert Hoover

- Is that Dell screen an IPS? If not, don't get it. (looked it up, it is IPS )In this price range, a lot of us get this one;https://www.amazon.com …-1&keywords=Dell+IPS+24​12But if higher resolution is of more importance than aspect ratio, maybe you chose the right one.

- I am not comfortable with G-Skill memory. I use Corsair or Crucial. Just a personal thing.I'd also go for 2X16GB, and maybe pass on the video card to afford it.

- You do not need an unlocked CPU designed for overclocking, You want a stable PC for your work, and don't sound like your going to overclock.

- For post processing, I find the built in intel graphics to be fine. Are you really building a processing machine? then don't spend money on a gaming card when you can't afford to install enough RAM for LR to run well.

- I have no comment on the Asrock other than to say they weren't around back when I built PCs, and I've never used them. Asus, Gigabyte, Abit, and Supermicro were my go to brands. I think I have heard good things about Asrock though. (it's named after a missile used on destroyers to kill submarines)

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #18644558I am not comfortable with G-Skill memory. I use Corsair or Crucial. Just a personal thing.

I have used G-Skill on my last two desktops (2016 and 2013). IT friend guy at a big company gave me the thumbs up. I think my 2x16gb sticks in 2016 were about $15-20 less than comparable Crucial/Corsair sticks. So far so good. Agree though about Crucial and Corsair quality, which is probably why other brands have to come in slightly under to compete with them. Have used Crucial multiple times going back to the old iBook days, and never a problem.

I'd also go for 2X16GB, and maybe pass on the video card to afford it.

Yup. In Photoshop and LR, I've tested with a 4gb vid card and with obo Intel graphics....and it's really tough to see any difference at all. Poster will have to decide how much gaming he plans to do. But for most things related to photography, I agree....more RAM is more important than an expensive video card

For post processing, I find the built in intel graphics to be fine. Are you really building a processing machine? then don't spend money on a gaming card when you can't afford to install enough RAM for LR to run well.

Agree completely.

I have no comment on the Asrock other than to say they weren't around back when I built PCs, and I've never used them. Asus, Gigabyte, Abit, and Supermicro were my go to brands. I think I have heard good things about Asrock though. (it's named after a missile used on destroyers to kill submarines)

Originally, ASRock was a kind of consumer-end version of the more pro-sumer models from ASUS. Note the name similarity. I believe ASUS at some point in the late 2000s (??) sold away their rights to the brand and now it's completely independent of ASUS. Reviews suggest it's a decent brand. But the cost to bump up to ASUS and Gigabyte is usually minimal....and totally worth it, IMHO.

Haven't seen an Abit board in year....lol. I remember those though....

Gear ListBlessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt. – Herbert Hoover

tim wrote in post #18645490According to what I've read faster RAM makes a minimal difference, you'd be better off with more RAM that's a little slower. 16GB is still fine. My 5 year old PC has that and it's good.

Only get a GPU if you game, otherwise minimal benefit.

I agree to a certain extent, a lot of ram paired with an internal SSD makes a load of a difference with boot up times and multitasking. I got a newish(new to me) 5K iMac from 2015 this week with an internal ssd and 24gb of ram and its super quick compared to my old setup(2013 iMac). It’s no Mac Pro but running PS with multiple layers and bouncing between LR is a breeze now.

BeritOlam wrote in post #18644820Yup. In Photoshop and LR, I've tested with a 4gb vid card and with obo Intel graphics....and it's really tough to see any difference at all. Poster will have to decide how much gaming he plans to do. But for most things related to photography, I agree....more RAM is more important than an expensive video card

I'd be interested in seeing which photo processes use more than 16GB of RAM. I have yet to see any photo specific tasks use up more than 10GB or so on my desktop. I think even 8GB would be fine for most people's needs when it comes to photos.

Now, when we're talking video (as the TS mentioned he's dabbling in), that's another story... same goes for the GPU.

Osa713 wrote in post #18645537I agree to a certain extent, a lot of ram paired with an internal SSD makes a load of a difference with boot up times and multitasking. I got a newish(new to me) 5K iMac from 2015 this week with an internal ssd and 24gb of ram and its super quick compared to my old setup(2013 iMac). It’s no Mac Pro but running PS with multiple layers and bouncing between LR is a breeze now.

That's not really a comparison worth drawing any conclusions from without more details though. Which CPU's were being used? Which OS? Which iterations of PS? Which SSD vs which HDD?

Also, PC vs Mac in general is a whole other conversation.

I think the OP's build looks pretty solid, though personally, in the current market I'd either go pre-built and modify as needed or buy used... RAM and GPU prices are still ridiculous, especially when custom building.

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